What are recreational drugs? |

History of Use

The nontechnical term recreational drug identifies the casual use of drugs. The term, which became common in the 1990s, is now frequently employed in the mass media and in popular discourse. The concept of using drugs for “recreational” purposes differentiates such use from the four other established uses and effects: medicinal, spiritual, addictive, and performance-enhancing.

While such distinctions can usefully serve to denote the type of use, they do not neatly classify the types of drugs used, because the same drug can be used for more than one such purpose. For example, most of the legal drugs that are used recreationally, especially nicotine, alcohol, and caffeine, are often also addictive. Also, many of the prescription drugs used for medicinal purposes can also be used recreationally and can be addictive. Likewise, many illegal drugs, such as cocaine and heroin, are used recreationally and are addictive. Drugs such as LSD, mescaline, ecstasy, peyote, and marijuana are used for spiritual and recreational purposes, and the latter is now also commonly used for medicinal reasons.

Several of the drugs now used recreationally have been used throughout the history of civilization. Alcohol was first fermented in west Asia about 8000 bce, marijuana was used in Asia as early as about three thousand years ago, and mushrooms containing the psychedelic chemical psilocybin have been available to humans for thousands of years. Initially, these drugs were used for medicinal and religious purposes, and recreational use emerged as a deviation.

Recreational drug use is endemic throughout all historical eras and geographic regions, but the particular drugs used vary widely across different cultures, places, and times. Alcohol and marijuana have been the two most prevalent across time and culture. Both have been the target of many unsuccessful attempts at prohibition. Among other drugs that have been in widespread recreational use for several centuries are coffee, tobacco, and opiates.

In the United States during the 1950s, two groups of prescription drugs were commonly used beyond their medicinal purposes: barbiturates, which were used as tranquilizers, and amphetamines, which were used as stimulants. Amphetamine came to be known casually as speed and was increasingly used recreationally through the 1960s and later. Also, LSD, which had been synthesized in 1943, was studied for its medicinal and therapeutic uses in the 1950s and early 1960s. Successful outcomes were indicated in the treatment of felons and alcoholics. Some performance-enhancement uses also were studied, mostly for artistic creativity. During the 1960s, the spiritual use of LSD became more common. With this widening pattern of use, LSD also came to be used recreationally, especially among college students, and it was made illegal in 1966.

Psychedelics derived from plants, especially mescaline and psilocybin, also became popular around the mid-1960s. Again, these substances were used first for spiritual purposes, which had been their long-standing function among the indigenous peoples in the United States and Mexico; a wider use by youth included recreational pursuits. Marijuana use also increased dramatically in the 1960s and early 1970s.

During the late 1970s, especially among the disco and punk music subcultures, the use of amyl nitrates (poppers) as inhalants became common. The 1980s saw the spread of ecstasy, especially among clubgoers. Though research showed that ecstasy may have medicinal value as an aid to marital or relationship therapy, it was made illegal in 1985. Later research indicated that ecstasy may also have medicinal value in treating post-traumatic stress disorder and cluster headaches.

In the first decade of the twenty-first century, methamphetamine became a common drug of choice. Since the mid-twentieth century, the two most commonly used recreational drugs have been alcohol and marijuana, especially by youth, with the popularity of other drugs rising and falling.

The recent history of recreational drug use shows that the particular drugs used recreationally have tended to rise and fall according to their fashion for specific times and subcultures. Current trends in the United States likewise vary by age, race, and social class. Among poor children and adolescents, solvent inhalants, especially glues and aerosols, are commonly used recreational drugs. Among poor and working-class urban adolescents and young adults, heroin and crack cocaine are major drugs of choice. Among the rural poor and working class, methamphetamine is common.

For middle-class youth, alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana are the most prevalent. For the professional class, a wide range of so-called designer drugs are used, especially barbiturates, amphetamines, LSD, ecstasy, and ketamine. Most recently, synthetic chemicals that mimic the effects of marijuana have been produced. For many new synthetic drugs, there is initially a lack of an official classification, which keeps the drug legal for a time. However, soon thereafter, government experts generally declare the substance illegal.

Effects and Potential Risks

Given the extremely wide range of drugs that are used recreationally, the number of effects and potential risks is similarly large. It is possible to classify recreational drugs in terms of their effects on cognition, affect, or sensation. Furthermore, it is possible to specify whether they enhance or diminish such capacities.

LSD, for example, is used to enhance cognition, ecstasy to enhance affect, and marijuana to enhance sensation; cocaine and methamphetamine provide both a euphoric affect and a stimulation of cognition, whereas heroin provides a euphoric mood while leading to a drowsy cognitive state; alcohol typically enhances affect while decreasing cognition and sensation, and so forth. Such attempts at classifying the effects of drugs, however, falter upon the dilemma that, for most drugs with psychoactive effects, the exact effects are not universal, but rather vary considerably based upon two factors not tied to the drug itself: the mental state of the user and the setting in which the drug is used.

Just as the effects of so wide a range of drugs cannot be univocally specified, neither can their potential risks. For most drugs, one potential risk is the danger of dependence. Such addictive potential varies considerably across the spectrum of drugs used recreationally. Those that are legal—alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine—have the most widespread patterns of addiction. Among the illegal drugs with the greatest potential for addiction are heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine. The drug whose use is most commonly prosecuted, marijuana, has been shown to have no addictive potential, though the possibility of a nonphysical, or psychological, dependency among some users remains disputed.

Beyond their addictive potential, many of the drugs used recreationally also pose a range of health risks, especially in the context of long-term heavy use. Alcohol in particular has been linked to organ damage, especially of the liver. Nicotine, when smoked, has been linked to lung cancer. Among illegal drugs, methamphetamine use can lead to brain damage and dental problems; cocaine to cardiovascular problems; and heroin to heart, lung, and liver damage. Many studies show a complex but close association between recreational drug use and mental health problems; combined with genetic factors, many experts believe drug use and mental illness reinforce each other in many cases.

Additional risks arise because of the illegal status of many recreational drugs. For example, additional unknown, harmful effects can arise. Blood-borne diseases are often caused by using needles for intravenous drugs. Also, adulterated or impure substances purchased on the black market can cause serious harm. The risk of arrest and the consequences of a conviction also must be counted among the harms in this category.

Bibliography

Daly, Max. "What Are Recreational Drugs Actually Doing to Our Mental Health?" Vice. Vice Media, 27 Apr. 2015. Web. 30 Oct. 2015.

Fadiman, James. The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 2011. Print.

Holland, Julie, ed. The Pot Book: A Complete Guide to Cannabis. Rochester, VT: Park Street, 2010. Print.

Nichter, Mark. “Generation RX: Anthropological Research on Pharmaceutical Enhancement, Lifestyle Regulation, Self-Medication, and Recreational Drug Use.” A Companion to Medical Anthropology. Eds. Merrill Singer and Pamela I. Erickson. Malden, MA: Wiley, 2011. Print.

Shapiro, Harry. Recreational Drugs: A Directory. London: Collins, 2004. Print.